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Caption

Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Tetrasphaera remsis, gram-positive, airborne, coccoid bacterium (prokaryote). Tetrasphaera remsis is new species (similar to Tetrasphaera japonica) and has a diploid or tetrad morphology. T. remsis was isolated while cultivating microbes (airborne microorganisms of the atmosphere) in the Regenerative Enclosed Life Support Module Simulator (REMS). The REMS was designed to simulate the conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). REMS is unique a terrestrial, encapsulated environment for humans and their associated organisms which allows investigations into the microbial communities within an enclosed habitat system. No species of Tetrasphaera has ever been isolated from airborne samples until now. Previous discoveries have come from soil and activated sludge samples. Magnification: x8,000 when shortest axis printed at 25 millimetres.